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With Laxus, the Thunder God Tribe and Yajima having been put in critical condition due to the actions of Tartaros member Tempester, a furious Natsu declares that it is time to go to war with the Dark Guild. As his guildmates physically hold him back before he can make any attempt to do so, Makarov tells him that though he agrees that Tartaros needs to be dealt with, they lack the information necessary to combat them. Lucy notes their goal to be the extermination of the councilors, something Gray notes they could take advantage of by finding out where the former members are to lie in wait. Though Macao states that finding their locations will be difficult, Loke appears, stating that he knows where some of them are. Using his information,the Fairy Tail Mages split into teams to seek out and protect the former members of the council.[1]

Jackal blows up Michello's house

Arriving at the home of former councilor Michello, Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Carla and Happy explain the situation. At first, the old man is uncooperative and dismissive until his granddaughter Michelia arrives, convincing him that he needs to take the Mages seriously. Lucy asks whether he knows why Tartaros is after him, to which he initially states that he does not. However, he considers whether they are after "face" before Natsu suddenly begins tackling everyone to the ground, having smelled something suspicious. Suddenly, the house ignites in a massive explosion, which sends all the inhabitants reeling from the blow. The majority of the damage is negated by Natsu's consumption of the explosion, surprising Jackal, the creator of the explosion, who believed them to have died and asks Natsu who he is while the Dragon Slayer replies that he is going to end him.[2] Knowing that he is from Tartaros, Lucy and Wendy urge Michello to escape as fast as he can, given that he is the target.[3]

Taking the first turn, Jackal proceeds to generate power, causing the wind to blow as he manages to create explosions all around the town, hitting all the buildings in the vicinity. Lucy exasperatedly tells him the town has nothing to do with his goals and, angry, Natsu jumps up in order to attack but is caught in an explosion before he is able to land an attack. However, this proves to be no problem as he is able to eat the explosion's heat, rendering it useless, much to the surprise of Jackal, whom Natsu punches in the face. Taking their battle down to the ground, Natsu traverses across and manages to knee Jackal in the face, sending him reeling. Jackal notes that Natsu is interesting and wishes to tell him something but before he is able to do so, he is punched in the face with a Magic-enhanced blow and sent flying once again.[4]

Natsu explodes

Natsu proceeds to physically beat Jackal repeatedly as everyone watches on from the sidelines. Remembering that he wanted to asking about the location of their headquarters, Natsu is also reminded by Carla to ask about their objective. Hearing this Michello wonders what they are after and, after remembering something, decides to run. Though Natsu tells him to reveal what he knows, Michello claims he knows nothing. Jackal then gets up and declares that he will kill Michello, who continues to claim that he knows nothing about what Tartaros may be after. Jackal then tells Natsu that what he wanted to tell him earlier was that anyone who touches him becomes a bomb and points out how many times Natsu has touched him. Finding his body covered in symbols, Natsu begins directing everyone to get away as his body then explodes. Once the dust clears, Jackal shows surprise that Natsu's body is still there and tells Michello that if he tells him what he wants to know, only Michelia will die.[5]

Jackal attacks Wendy and Lucy

With Natsu out of commission, a frightened Michello runs away and leaves everyone behind. Seeing Jackal going after him, Wendy and Lucy move in to intercept the Tartaros member, with Happy warning them from the sides about not touching him, lest they turn into bombs as Natsu did. Wendy attacks with her Sky Dragon's Roar, aiming straight at Jackal. However, the Dark Guild member uses his explosion to cancel out the power of her roar, rendering it useless. Lucy summons Scorpio who attacks with his Sand Buster. However, this attack is also repelled by an explosion, an even stronger one which throws Scorpio into the air and nearly hits Lucy. As Happy notes that he's using his blasts to guard against Magic, Jackal reveals that the members of Tartaros do not use Magic but rather "Curse", a power which stands above Magic. Stating that Mages cannot beat them, Jackal hits Lucy and Wendy with his Exploding Spiral. The two girls are knocked into the air and taken out just like Natsu before, leaving Jackal free to go after Michello. Michelia asks if the girls are alright, sad that they were injured because of her grandfather. However, Lucy tells them they are fighting for their pride and as such, leaves Wendy behind to take care of Natsu while she goes after Jackal.[6]

Natsu elbows Jackal in the face

Locating a frantic Michello in town, Jackal proceeds to taunt him just as Lucy arrives and winds up being caught in his Landmine Curse, which will go off should she move. Seeing the crowd approach her, Jackal picks up Michello, who had dived into the river, and a random woman with his Magic and encases them in his Bomb Orb. Jackal instructs Lucy to choose which one of them will live and which one will die. Lucy is frantically shouted at by Michello, who demands to be saved, as well as the pleas of the woman who claims to be pregnant. Shocked at this choice, Lucy demands he release both but Jackal refuses and tells her to choose, lest they both die. Unable to make the choice, Lucy struggles until Natsu arrives and delivers and elbow to Jackal's face, saving Michello and the woman and freeing Lucy of the choice. Knocking out the former, Natsu has the bomb on his body pointed out to him by Jackal but, undeterred, eats it, thus saving himself from the brunt of the explosion and leaving Jackal speechless.[7]

Natsu defeats Jackal

Shocked and in disbelief, Jackal asks Natsu just who he is, a question that is answered with a punch to the face and Natsu's statement of his name. The punch causes another symbol to appear on Natsu, much to Jackal's happiness, but the Fire Dragon Slayer eats the resulting explosion like the one before, saving himself from harm. Amazed at how a human could do the things he has done, Jackal begins growing afraid, much to his own detestation and changes into a large, feral beast as a result. Punching Natsu and creating a large explosion as a result, the town feels the brunt of the impact. As Jackal slams down on Natsu, he claims that humans cannot compete with demons, with Natsu taking note of this and asking if all of Tartaros is comprised of Demons. As he prepares another attack, wanting to kill humans, Jackal is hit by Natsu, who states that he and his friends are human and are different as they fight for their friends and will battle anyone, be they a Demon or a God. Activating his Lightning Fire Dragon Mode, Natsu hits Jackal with his Lightning Fire Dragon's Firing Hammer, sending the Tartaros member flying through several buildings before he ultimately crashes into one taking him out of the battle with Natsu collapsing shortly after from exhaustion.[8]

As his friends rush to him, including the Exceed who finished evacuating the citizens, Natsu expresses himself as the winner of the fight as the girls comment on how much trouble he had. As they mention getting information out of Jackal, the Tartaros member laughs, having reverted back to his previous form. Stating that this battle was his first significant defeat, he apologizes to Kyôka as he states his intention to turn his body into a bomb so as to destroy the town and everyone in it. As it will go off even if he dies, the Fairy Tail Mages are left unable to do anything to stop him. However, Happy suddenly grabs a hold of Jackal and flies him into the sky, determined not to let him blow up the town. Cursing him, Jackal explodes in the air as everyone watches on in shock from below. Though everyone is saddened, their fears of the worst are soon quelled by the clearing of the dust bringing the revelation of Happy's survival, injured but alive.[9]

The Council's Weapon: Face

Wanting to communicate with the guild, Lucy is forced to borrow a communication Lacrima from someone in town, due to their own having been destroyed. Finally establishing a connection, Lucy reveals, upon being asked, that Michello is fine and Natsu, having fought and defeated a member of Tartaros, is injured but alright. Frantic, Makarov asks if Michello gave them any information, to which Lucy looks upo the man as he talks about the "white legacy" and "face". Though he initially claims not to know anything, he admits that "Face" is one of the weapons the Magic Council possesses, similar to Etherion. Asked what kind of weapon "Face" is, Michello reveals that it is a which can annihilate the Magic of an entire continent. Realizing that since Tartaros uses Curses rather than Magic, this would not affect them, the Mages note that this could create a catastrophe if they were allowed to act freely. Asked by Natsu where it is, Michello states that he doesn't know, knowing only that it was sealed with Organic Link Magic with three ex-councilors and that only the former chairman knows who they are. As a result, Fairy Tail is more certain than ever that the ex-council members need their protection.[10]